Is XP Firewall Enough

[JWK]

Hi all,

Obviously XP comes with it's own firewall software. Is this adaquate or is it worth investing in a third party package. I ask as I am about to buy Norton Antivirus software & wonder if it's worth buying a virus & firewall package.

Thanks for your help,

James

 

[AMD_Man]

No, the XP firewall is very limited. It's safer to get a separate firewall.

<b><i>"A penny saved is a penny earned!"</i></b>

 

[monkeyspank]

Don't buy one dude.
I use <A HREF="http://soho.sygate.com/products/shield_ov.htm" target="_new">sygate personal firewall.</A>

It's easy for beginners to use, but has some good configuration options and logs. And best of all it is free.
To be honest i found it is the best one for me, even when pitted against the likes of norton and the other costly ones.

-- There are no answers to find in the bottom of a glass. But you can have fun looking for them.

 

[monkeyspank]

You can nochex me half the money you saved from Norton


-- There are no answers to find in the bottom of a glass. But you can have fun looking for them.

 

[Arrow]

ZoneAlarm is a good one to look into.

Rob
Please visit <b><A HREF="http://www.ncix.com/canada/about.php?affiliateid=319048" target="_new">http://www.ncix.com/canada/about.php?affiliateid=319048</A></b>

 

[JWK]

Great, thanks to everyone for their help. I'll look into it.

Jwk

 

[Tom_Smart]

gt zonealarm. the others mentioned are not up to scratch. look <A HREF="http://online.securityfocus.com/news/382" target="_new"> here </A>

Although it has a lot of good ideas, beer doesn't know anything about computers!!!

 

[Arrow]

Hehe, ZoneAlarm IS a good program... many options which you can configure and offers great firewalling.

Rob
Please visit <b><A HREF="http://www.ncix.com/canada/about.php?affiliateid=319048" target="_new">http://www.ncix.com/canada/about.php?affiliateid=319048</A></b>

 

[ejsmith2]

Yeah. Another vote for Zonealarm.

Nothing beats running Antivirus soft., but ZA is just about the best out there. Especially if you have already drilled down everything on your computer before you crank up ZA. Those programs are identified by their versions, but size too. And a CRC 32, I think.

 

[labdog]

forget xp integrated firewall.
try Tiny Personal Firewall.
freeware but huge software.


<i>if <b>you know</b> <font color=white>you don't know<font color=black>, the way could be more easy ...

 

[OldBear]

I also recommend Zone Alarm. It is very good. Several of my friends switched from Norton firewall
to Zone Alarm for better system stability.

<b><font color=blue> I took an I.Q. test today...It came back negative.</font color=blue></b> :lol:

 

[tm2]

Windows XP's built in firewall works fine. It does it's job just as well as any other firewall. However, if you want more features such as being able to control outbound packets as well, you'll need to turn to third party software.

If you're a computer illiterate person that likes the software thinking for you, I recommend Zone Alarm. But if you like knowing exactly what your firewall is doing and customizing it, get Kerio Personal Firewall. Sygate Personal Firewall is another good choice.

Also, someone posted a report about a new stealth method of getting past these firewall's outbound protection. What's new? All software firewalls outbound filtering systems are jokes. That article proves is that one single method of getting past a firewall is protected by ZA. The only real way to have full control over what gets out is to make all your applications go through a local filtering proxy. If you're just using a firewall's outbound filtering, it's easy for a program to stealth itself by using Internet Explorer or another application to bypass your firewalls outbound protection.

 

[ejsmith2]

"The only true way to have full control over what gets out is to make all your applications go through a local filtering proxy."

My point exactly.

 

[OldBear]

I use hardware firewall. Pricey but fairly safe.
In my present assignment, I want data to come in and I will control what goes out.



:lol: <b><font color=blue>Welcome to</font color=blue> <font color=red>Fredi's</font color=red><font color=blue> place.</font color=blue></b> :lol:

 

[CALV]

I agree, hardware firewall is the way to go, be it a dedicated device, or an old 486.

If they squeeze olives to get olive oil, how do they get baby oil?

 

[monkeyspank]

i've got an old pentium 200 with 32MB RAM, which my mate has turned into a router for me. It runs off a floppy disk.
I wish i knew a bit about linux :frown:

<font color=red> -- </font color=red><font color=blue>Why is there only one Monopolies Commission?</font color=blue>

 

[ejsmith2]

For what it's worth, the June edition of Consumer Reports did a little review of software firewalls...

 

[btvillarin]

I don't know if you've had a look at <A HREF="http://www.bbiagent.com/en" target="_new">BBIagent</A>, but it was fairly simple to create an image for a floppy. I'm hoping it's just as simple as <A HREF="http://www.freesco.info" target="_new">FreeSCO</A>, like Calv suggested to me.

<font color=red><A HREF="http://www.btvillarin.com" target="_new">btvillarin.com</A> - My Windows XP-based Website</font color=red>

 

[JWK]

Is Consumer Report available on-line. What country is the publication based in.

Thanks,

James

 

[ejsmith2]

Probably. You'd have to pay for a subscription most likely.

States.

 

[Tom_Smart]

test your firewall <A HREF="http://grc.com/lt/leaktest.htm" target="_new">here </A>

Although it has a lot of good ideas, beer doesn't know anything about computers!!!

 

[ejsmith2]

My firewall OwNz GrC.cOm!

 

[monkeyspank]

im using freesco. i'll have a look at bbiagent

cheers dude

<font color=red> -- </font color=red><font color=blue>Why is there only one Monopolies Commission?</font color=blue>

 

[btvillarin]

I would stick with Freesco. From what I've seen so far, Freesco looks more powerful, but BBIagent was easier to set up. I just created an image with their wizard, downloaded it, and rawrite to a floppy. After booting to it, and configuring my PPPoE connection, everything was set. Plus, the webpage interface looks more inviting and less daunting than Freesco.

See ya!

<font color=red><A HREF="http://www.btvillarin.com" target="_new">btvillarin.com</A> - My Windows XP-based Website</font color=red>

 

[lemonlemon]

How would you use a 486 as a firewall? Curious...